John Wimberley

Biography

John Wimberley was born in Bermuda during 1945 and currently lives in southern Oregon. During 1966 he made his first photographs on the flight decks of aircraft carriers upon which he served during the Viet Nam war. John had his first one-man show in 1973 at Camera Work Gallery in Saratoga, California, which was owned by Astoria resident Dwight Caswell. Although John was completely self-taught, Artweek Magazine noted: “The first thing that one is made aware of is that the photographer, John Wimberley, is a craftsman of the highest order. His prints are not merely technically correct, but wonderfully alive.” Unhappy with commercially available photographic chemistry, John performed years of research that resulted in two pyrogallol film developers that are still sold by The Photographer’s Formulary. His work initiated the current renaissance of the use of pyrogallol, and he became a sought-after expert in black and white film development chemistry and techniques. Since then John has achieved world wide recognition as one of contemporary photography’s finest technicians.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s John’s emphasis was on the landscape. He continually sought out places that conveyed spiritual power, returning for more than 25 years to certain locations. In 1981, he made a series of photographs of a woman underwater, which resulted in Descending Angel. The year 1983 brought the first of two, two-man exhibitions with Ansel Adams. A deep interest in First-Nation cultures led John to begin photographing American Indian petroglyphs during 1999 in the Great Basin region of the United States, resulting in his award-winning book Evidence of Magic.

Now, with more than 44 years in photography, John’s critically acclaimed work has been honored with over 70 major exhibitions and has been extensively published and collected around the world. His work is represented in more than 500 public and private collections, including many major museums. As The Herald of Monterey, California wrote: “Wimberley’s undisputed technical mastery of photographing and printing in black and white is but the springboard for visual poetry of spiritual realms. What remains unnoticed by most, as seen through Wimberley’s eyes, becomes a powerful, mysterious invitation.”